The Pattern and Dynamics of Occupational Mobility and Entrepreneurship in Rural Settings: Experiences from Haramaya District, Oromia Region, Ethiopia

Abstract

This study explored the pattern, paths and drivers of occupational mobility dynamics and rural entrepreneurship based on the data obtained from Haramaya district in Eastern Ethiopia. The research is undertaken on the basis of sequential explanatory strategy of mixed methods research. The quantitative data were obtained from a survey of 381 rural households, and qualitative data were gathered from a total of 13 entrepreneurs and 11 key stakeholders through in-depth interviews (IDI), key informant interviews (KII), focus group discussions (FGD) and observations. The gathered data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and hybrid thematic analysis techniques. The finding of the research showed that rural entrepreneurship is a growing phenomenon dominantly characterized by business diversification, inter and intra-sector labor mobility, and value-centeredness rather than specialization, intensification and consumption-centeredness. The labor mobility dynamics are primarily shaped by necessity-pushes caused by natural calamities, lack of job opportunity and failure or insufficiency of the previous job to meet basic needs of households. It is also influenced by some opportunities such as rise in demand, proximity to towns and price differences on a temporal and spatial basis. Institutional factors that include land access policy, incompatibility of financial services with the religious values and the bureaucracy are identified to be the major bottlenecks of rural entrepreneurship. Therefore, the government and other development actors are advised to improve their policies; modus operandi and bureaucratic attributes; and raise awareness of the community about diverse land and financial access modalities.